Deep water oil exploration requires the utilization of equipment of large sizes and mass. Usually, lowering equipment of this size, such as manifolds, from the deck of a vessel into the sea and subsequently see that it arrives safely at the bottom of the sea in submarine oil extracting fields, especially deep water and ultra deep water producer fields, requires utilization of special vessels, provided with adequate devices, such as heavy duty cranes and other facilities. Such vessels, in addition to implying in quite high lease cost, are not always available for hiring at the precise occasion when they are required, which may imply in difficulties for the continuation of oil exploration operations.
Consequently, one of the concerns of companies exploring oil in submarine fields, especially deep water fields, consists in searching for solutions eliminating or reducing, as much as possible, the need for utilizing such special high cost vessels.